Parenting Classes | StepStone Family & Youth Services
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Family & Youth Services

Parenting Isn’t Easy. We Understand. And Provide Strong Support.

StepStone offers a series of parenting classes that are available for our prospective foster families, as well as adoptive families and the general public. These informative sessions cover a wide variety of topics related to assisting parents with providing a structured environment, as well as social, emotional and educational supports to ensure that each child has the best opportunity to achieve ongoing success throughout his or her life.

Parenting Strategies and Styles, Positive Reinforcement and Support

Our parenting classes cover an extensive range of topics that apply to all youth, as well as specialized topics that are applicable to special needs youth and those who have suffered abuse, neglect and other traumatic experiences:

  • Parenting Strategies
  • Safety
  • Supervision
  • Emotional Support
  • Effective Communication
  • Academic Support
  • Physical Care
  • Positive Reinforcement
  • Domestic Violence & Child Abuse
  • Financial Management
  • Personalized Stabilization of the Family Unit
  • Behavior Management
  • Sleep Problems
  • ADHD
  • Sibling Relations in the Foster Care System
  • Your Role as a Foster Parent
  • Parenting a Child Who Has Been Abused or Neglected
  • Practical Tools to Nurture Development
  • Trauma-Informed Treatment
  • Legal Issues Affecting Foster Care and Permanency in Virginia
  • Peer Relationships
  • Family Connections
  • Promotion of Well-Being and a Sense of Security
  • Attachment Theory
  • The Role of Foster Parents as Part of the Treatment Team
  • Mentoring Birth Families
  • Child Discipline vs. Punishment
  • Parenting a Grieving Foster Child
  • Handling Challenging Behavior Issues
  • How to Prepare Youth for Independent Living

Practical Parenting Coaching

Parenting coaching sessions are designed to address the functioning and dynamics of families identified to have demonstrated patterns of behavior and decision-making that have placed their children at risk. Practical parenting is taught using the Safe and Stable Family Program. Caretakers are coached to apply appropriate behavioral interventions and fiscal management through role-playing.

Parenting Skills Training for Foster Families

StepStone offers our Parenting Skills Training (PST) Course as a pre-service curriculum for prospective foster parents. PST introduces valuable, practical skills for challenging situations that may be encountered during the foster care experience. Our educators train foster parents on the relevant aspects of Attachment Theory and Trauma-Informed Treatment. The PST Model focuses on the power of family relationships on learning and shaping a child’s perspective on himself and society. We also teach parents the importance of applying care-giving based on a strength-based approach.

StepStone is committed to providing individualized training to each approved foster family to best meet the needs of the youth placed in their home. Our Foster Parent Consultant works with families to identify training needs and develops an individualized plan based on the specific needs of the foster care youth. This specialized approach assists the foster parents in understanding specific clinical, emotional and behavioral needs by providing education, support and guidance.

The Parenting & Resource Education Program© (P.R.E.P.©) is StepStone’s very own comprehensive interactive education and training program designed to teach and enhance the development of parenting skills, the knowledge and use of community resources, and the development of personal and family life management skills. Offering a comprehensive curriculum, the P.R.E.P.© program is individualized to meet the unique needs of each family served and clients receive ongoing feedback on their progress.

One Step
Can Change a Life.

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